Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 13 September 2018 – At the World Economic Forum on ASEAN, the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) has announced support for two new initiatives to accelerate the elimination of malaria and improve health outcomes in the Asia Pacific region. The two initiatives are Blended Finance for Impact and M2030.

“The fight against malaria is at a critical point. Nothing short of an all-hands-on-deck approach will suffice as we work to eliminate malaria in the ASEAN region. Through our platform, the Forum supports innovative public-private cooperation required to realize this vision,” said Vanessa Candeias, Head of the Global Health and Healthcare System Initiative at the World Economic Forum.

Blended Finance for Impact is a partnership of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and APLMA to enable and increase long-term integrated financing for health, including malaria. M2030 aims to bring together some of the most influential businesses in Asia to raise funds, engage consumers as agents of change and sustain political support for malaria elimination.

In line with the objectives of Blended Finance for Impact, the ADB today announced a new Regional Health Fund. The fund will address the increasing demand from governments for new forms of health financing, particularly financial modalities that blend grants and loans to address the most pressing health challenges in Asia Pacific.

“We are looking to raise up to $150 million in grant funding, which will be multiplied many times using other ADB resources,” said Stephen Groff, Vice-President for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Development Bank. “The Regional Health Fund is a hallmark to the creative approaches we are using to address the evolving challenges presented by malaria and other communicable diseases. Together with our partners, our aim is to create a new era of collaboration between health development partners. This platform will help the transition from traditional grant funding for health, while strengthening public-private partnerships and country-led health financing, including financial flows from national to district level.”

M2030, launched by APLMA in April, is a platform for cause-based corporate engagement that takes a novel approach to eliminating malaria by 2030. It unites international health organizations, consumers and prominent business leaders to be malaria-elimination champions through partner platforms and media. M2030 marks the first time that influential Asian-led businesses will unite under the same brand to collaborate and champion the fight against malaria.

“Alongside our Yoma Group partners Wave Money and Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospitals, we are spearheading the M2030 initiative in Myanmar. With the support of government and the private sector, we aim to create a better Myanmar for the 31 million people who, according to the WHO, are still at risk of contracting the disease in our country,” said Serge Pun, Chairman of Yoma Strategic Holdings.

Today, the world is seeing unprecedented progress in the global effort to eliminate malaria. Decreasing case counts and a firm political commitment to end the disease mean that, for the first time in history, the elimination of malaria is within reach in Asia Pacific. However, challenges threaten this progress, including a looming funding gap that puts critical malaria-elimination activities at risk.

On the heels of robust economic growth in the region, external grant funding to support malaria elimination is expected to decline. This presents an urgent need to create initiatives to sustain the political commitment to end malaria. It also requires unconventional financing solutions to ensure that vital elimination activities are funded, critical gaps are filled and access to health services are expanded across borders.

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